David J. Van De Pitte (October 28, 1941 – August 9, 2009) was an American

music arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

player. He is best known for his work at

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

during the 1960s and early 1970s, when he was responsible for arranging many of the best known and most successful of the company's records, including those by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

the Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

the Four Tops ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

and many others.

Life and career

He was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and studied music at the Westlake College of Music in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, becoming proficient in classical,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

. His main instrument was the bass, but he also played

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

and other instruments. In the early 1960s he began playing in Johnny Trudell's orchestra, and came to know many of the musicians who, then and later, worked at Motown, including bass player

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...

who sometimes substituted for him in Trudell's band. He began working for Motown in 1968, and was responsible for arranging Marvin Gaye's albums '' What's Going On'' and ''

Let's Get It On ''Let's Get It On'' is the twelfth studio album by the American soul singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP. Recording sessions for the album took place dur ...

'', as well as singles including " Nathan Jones" by

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

, " Still Water (Love)" by the Four Tops, " Ball of Confusion" and " Psychedelic Shack" by the Temptations, " If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight, " Indiana Wants Me" by R. Dean Taylor, and " If You Really Love Me" by Stevie Wonder. He was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

in 1971 for his work on ''What's Going On''. As a music director, he was responsible for Marvin Gaye's TV performances and live appearances by the Temptations, Four Tops, and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

. After leaving Motown in 1972, he worked freelance for artists including

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

and George Clinton. He was an adjunct professor in the Jazz Studies program at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

from 1979 to 1983. He also wrote music for live shows and commercials on behalf of corporations including Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. In 2008, he arranged four songs for the March 2008 Carl Dixon BandTraxs session at Studio A, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, where he and fellow musicians helped complete Dixon's dreams of paying homage to session musicians from the city who played on countless favourites of his from the 1960s. Playing on the session were the likes of Uriel Jones (drums), Dennis Coffey (guitar),

Bob Babbitt Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was an American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as ...

(bass guitar), Ray Monette (guitar), Robert Jones (piano), Spider Webb (drums), George Katsakis (sax - The Royaltones), Gil Bridges (sax - Rare Earth), Dennis Sheridan (percussion), Larry Fratangelo, percussion (Kid Rock), John Trudell (trumpet), David Jennings (trumpet), Mark Berger (sax),

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

(sax), Ed Gooch (trombone) and Rob Pipho (vibraphones). He scored the musical arrangements by hand and supplied charts to all musicians in the studio without the help of any computer. He died of cancer in

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

, at the age of 67.

Discography

As arranger

With

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophone, tenor saxophonist and record producer. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note Reco ...

*'' The Man with the Sad Face'' (Fantasy, 1976)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van De Pitte, David 1941 births 2009 deaths American music arrangers Wayne State University alumni American male trumpeters American male conductors (music) American classical trombonists American male trombonists American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Deaths from cancer in Michigan 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American trumpeters 20th-century classical trombonists Guitarists from Detroit Classical musicians from Michigan 20th-century American conductors (music) 20th-century American male musicians